A survey of Myanmar public opinion published last week by the International Republican Institute provides an antidote to the disenchantment that shrouded Thein Sein’s recent third anniversary as president. From December 24, 2013 to February 1, 2014, IRI conducted 3000 in-person, in-home interviews with individuals randomly selected to reflect the demographic composition of the country. Broadly, the results are extremely positive.

Is democracy better than any other form of government? 76 percent said yes, 4 percent said no. How has Myanmar’s democratization fared in the past year? 62 percent said it had increased, 1 percent said it had decreased. Is the country moving in generally the right direction? 88 percent said yes, 6 percent said no. How has your personal economic situation changed over the past year? 40 percent said it was better, 16 percent said it was worse. How do you expect your personal economic situation to change over the next year? 57 percent said it would get better, 2 percent said it would get worse. Are key institutions and individuals doing a good job? Net scores came out at +89 for the president, +84 for the government, and +60 for the parliament. Other major institutions also had strongly favourable ratings.

In fact, the results are so uniformly good that you start to wonder what’s going on. Partly I would think Myanmar people are conscious that the reform process was always intended to build discipline-flourishing democracy, and therefore do not feel deeply deflated when it turns out that’s what they’re getting. Partly, though, there must surely be a framing effect here. When a polling organization funded by the United States Agency for International Development (did respondents know that?) shows up at your home and asks you a series of questions about matters that until recently were strictly taboo, is it possible to say what you really think? IRI did touch on this issue, asking whether people are afraid to express political views openly. 53 percent said yes and only 7 percent clearly said no. Could this hesitancy have shaped the other results?

On some detailed issues, the returns were interesting and plausible. Respondents saw economic and welfare issues as the major challenges facing the country. They gave the National League for Democracy a substantial lead over the Union Solidarity and Development Party on policies relating to women, young people and democracy. They favoured the USDP over the NLD on internal and external security. On the federal question, they opted for centralized control over regional and state autonomy by 57 percent to 35. They reported 40 percent household access to a mobile phone, and 5 percent individual access to the internet.

Perhaps the most significant feature of the IRI survey is the simple fact that it took place at all. In such a data-poor environment, a pioneering effort of this kind can only be welcomed.